


Four AU Garaks Arrive on DS9 and Little Else Happens

by NoOneKnowsIWriteThis



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-11
Updated: 2017-03-11
Packaged: 2018-10-02 19:29:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,617
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10225445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NoOneKnowsIWriteThis/pseuds/NoOneKnowsIWriteThis
Summary: Pretty much a reverse take on Seven Bashirs (and one Orb).--“Are you alright?” Bashir asked. Garak gave him an amused smile.“I'm a bit startled by the sudden appearance of several doppelgangers.” He tilted his head in the direction of the others. “But other than that I'm quite well, doctor,” he answered.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Seven Bashirs (and one Orb)](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1041837) by [agatharights](https://archiveofourown.org/users/agatharights/pseuds/agatharights). 



As a burst of light blinded Garak his hand instinctively grabbed for the disruptor that was never far from his person. He blinked as his vision quickly returned. Before him were several figures who hadn't been in his shop a moment ago. Two of them were Cardassians, two of them were human, all of them appeared to be armed, and all of them looked like him.

Garak quickly sized them up in turn.

The first Garak was a Cardassian in military garb and also wielding a disruptor pistol. The angry snarl on his face and aggressive stance led the tailor to believe that this one was the most immediately dangerous.

The second was human, dressed fashionably, and holding a phaser. He appeared relatively nonthreatening, but there was something subtly alarming about him. He seemed like a knife wrapped in silk.

The third was also a human. He was dressed in a simple, yet elegant charcoal gray suit with turquoise detailing. In his hand he wielded what appeared to be a set of archaic sewing scissors and was the most visibly alarmed of the set, his eyes nervously scanning the room.

The final one was a Cardassian dressed in an exquisite light gray tunic with a dark green center panel. He gave off an impression of calm, almost nonchalance, but he was armed with both a disruptor and a knife.

For a tense moment no one spoke. Then the calm one glanced at Garak.

“You should call for station security, assuming they're not already on their way.” His words sounded like a suggestion, but there was an underlying tone that turned it into an order. Garak nodded slowly and stepped back from the stand-off. No sooner had he done so then the aggressive one swung his pistol to aim it at them, but before he could act further he was hit with a blast from the dangerous human's phaser.

“You should also call for a medical team,” the human advised.

A few short moments later and Odo and his security team arrived, followed swiftly by Doctor Bashir.

Garak noted how both the calm Cardassian and the nervous human lit up in recognition. Even the dangerous human seemed to perk up slightly at the doctor's entrance.

Bashir, meanwhile, went directly to check on the injured Cardassian.

“He's only stunned. He'll come around in another ten minutes or so,” he announced. The human who'd shot him merely shrugged. Bashir then turned to Garak.

“Are you alright?” he asked. Garak gave him an amused smile.

“I'm a bit startled by the sudden appearance of several doppelgangers.” He tilted his head in the direction of the others. “But other than that I'm quite well, doctor,” he answered. Bashir gave him a warm smile.

“Good.” He hesitated for a brief moment. “I should go check on our visitors,” he said, turning back to the other three men. After mentally appraising them he strode over to the nervous human with the scissors.

“Hello, I'm-”

“Julian Bashir,” the other man interrupted quickly. “Where am I? What is this place?” Bashir put on his friendly doctor smile and answered.

“You're on Deep Space 9. It's a Bajoran and Starfleet-run station orbiting Bajor.”

The man scoffed.

“This sounds like something out of one of your sci-fi books.”

“One of my...” Bashir trailed off before trying a different tack. “What's the last thing you remember before being here?” The man gave him a long look.

“You're older,” he muttered. He ran his eyes ran over the doctor, appraising him, before answering. “I was in my shop. I'm a tailor. I was getting ready to meet...Julian at the pizza shop for his lunch break. Then there was a...bright light and I was here.” Bashir nodded.

“We'll have you back home as soon as possible,” he reassured with a soft smile. “Hopefully, you won't miss your lunch date.”

“I should hope so,” the tailor replied, “Julian gets very anxious when I'm late.” He sighed, seemingly calmed somewhat.

Bashir looked around and then moved to check on the other human. The man made no secret of examining him, a teasing smile that was almost a smirk dancing around his lips.

“I'm Doctor Bashir, Chief Medical Officer for Deep Space 9.” The man grinned openly as the doctor gave his introduction and offered his hand.

“Emil Garret,” he said, shaking the doctor's hand. “I'm a tailor on Deep Space 9. I must say doctor, meeting you is a very interesting experience. Your equivalent in my universe is Julan Bassir, a Cardassian doctor who stayed behind after the occupation. I would love the opportunity to discover your similarities and differences.” His final comment was punctuated by a fairly flirtatious look.

Bashir, for his part, handled the shift in tones fairly well. His smile shifted from a curious and eager expression to a colder, more professional one.

“Well, hopefully we'll have you back in your own universe soon enough,” he answered politely as he slid his hand from the other man's grip. “Now I need to check on the other doppelganger.”

“Of course.” Garret nodded his head slightly. Bashir quickly retreated to the only version of Garak he hadn't checked on yet. The Cardassian greeted his approach with an unusually soft smile and held up a hand to forestall any introduction.

“No need to introduce yourself. I can recognize an alternate version of my...” he paused, searching for the right word, eventually settling on the Federation Standard, “husband.”

Julian raised an eyebrow.

“Really?” he asked. The Cardassian gave him a bemused look.

“I can understand how that might be surprising. I'm not your usual type.”

“No, no.” Bashir waved his hand, dismissing the idea. “It's just...I'm not really the marrying kind.”

“Ah,” the Cardassian responded. A fond look was allowed unchecked on his face. “Fortunately for me, your alternate was. Of course, I'm sure there were advantages to marrying one of the Cardassian representatives to the Anti-Dominion Alliance that factored into his decision, but I like to think it was my charm and wit that won him over.”

Bashir gave him a small, warm smile.

“I'm sure it was.” He paused, and then said, “Well, I'd better wrap up here and then pass all the information on to Ops so they can start figuring out how to send you all back.”

The Cardassian nodded his head, and the doctor crossed back to the original Garak.

“Well, doctor?” Garak prompted.

“The Gul is from the Mirror Universe. I've met him before.” Garak nodded, no more needed to be said about that one.

“The human with the scissors is from Earth, I'd say late 20th or early 21st century. He has a lunch date today with my counterpart that he's eager to get back to,” Bashir added with a sheepish smile.

“What about the other human?” Garak asked.

“Ah, Emil Garret, tailor on Deep Space 9. My counterpart there is apparently a Cardassian doctor named Julan Bassir.” Garak tilted his head and gave Bashir a look that made him feel like he was being tested.

“Tell me,” Garak stated, “what impression did he give you?” The question was posed casually, but the intensity in Garak's eyes told Bashir it was very serious.

“He's an aggressive flirt, but it was more like he was trying to get a sense of me rather than actually get anywhere.” Bashir paused. “Do you think he's a spy? Starfleet Intelligence?” he asked, failing to keep the eagerness out of his voice.

Garak made a non-committal noise, but his pleased expression told Bashir he'd given the right answer.

“Hmm.” Bashir's face drew closed as he took in this information.

“What did you learn about our final guest?” Garak prompted, drawing Bashir out of his thoughts.

“He's a representative for Cardassia in the Anti-Dominion Alliance,” Bashir replied, a bit too quickly.

“Oh?” Garak asked, trying to draw out the information that Bashir hadn't volunteered.

“Yes. He's...” Bashir sighed. “He's married to my counterpart.” Garak raised an eyebrow.

“Is that such a terrible fate, doctor?” he asked lightly, though he was deeply invested in the answer.

“Oh!” Bashir started as he realized how his words must have come across. “No, not at all. I just...I never pictured myself getting married. Starfleet and all... It didn't seem fair to tie someone to me when I could be assigned to the other end of the quadrant next week.” He offered a sheepish smile, which Garak accepted with a nod.

“I should...I should get to Ops so we can start work on fixing this,” Bashir announced.

“By all means, Doctor,” Garak said with a slight bow. Bashir nodded before turning on his heel and leaving the shop. The doppelgangers were escorted out by Odo and the security team shortly after, leaving the original Garak alone with his work.

–

It was a few hours later when Doctor Bashir reentered Garak's shop. There was a nervous energy around the man that hadn't been there earlier.

“Doctor,” Garak greeted, “have my doppelgangers been behaving themselves?” Bashir chuckled lightly.

“They've all gone back to their own worlds,” he explained. “You can ask Jadzia if you want a full explanation.” They stood in silence, each giving the other a chance to speak. After a few moments had passed, Bashir spoke again.

“I've been thinking about this for a while, but after this morning I feel like I actually stand a chance.” He paused, taking in and slowly letting out a deep breath to ground himself. “Would you like to get dinner tonight? As a date?” Garak smiled and walked over to the doctor, taking one of Bashir's hands in his.

“My dear doctor, I would be delighted.”


End file.
